Radio segment growth being restricted by some policies, regulatory issues: Red FM COO

With general elections and the ICC Cricket World Cup and the IPL being scheduled this year, the radio segment is counting on good growth. Red FM COO Nisha Narayanan tells FE’s Asmita Dey about the policy and regulatory aspects which are restricting the growth of the industry. Excerpts:

How are ad revenues looking for the radio sector, especially with the digital sector fast catching up?

In the last four-five years, radio has been growing at 12%-13% as an industry. However, the overall ad pie has continued to be the same. Revenue from the radio segment constitutes about 4-5% of the overall media & entertainment sector. Now with phase II and phase III auctions coming in, multiple radio stations have been launched, but the ad pie has not grown. Purely from an advertising model, radio cannot survive. Some of the key categories which advertise very well with us like the FMCG and auto sectors are not doing well.